Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee track star who is accused of murdering his girlfriend, reacts during his trial at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, April 7, 2014. (THEMBA HADEBE/NYT)

Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee track star who is accused of murdering his girlfriend, reacts during his trial at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, April 7, 2014.(THEMBA HADEBE/NYT)

Oscar Pistorius says he was “overcome
with fear” and ran screaming toward his bathroom with his 9mm pistol in his hand
after he heard a bathroom window opening and closing, just minutes before
shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through the bathroom door.

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In dramatic testimony that abruptly ended when he broke down in loud wails
and sobs, the Olympic double-amputee hero said he was convinced that a burglar
or burglars had entered his home after he heard the noise of the small window
opening in the early hours of Valentine’s Day last year.

He said he was panicking because he feared that an armed intruder was about
to come out of the bathroom. He said he fired four rapid shots at the door,
leaving his ears ringing from the noise, and then rushed to look for Ms. Steenkamp,
still believing she was in the bedroom. He said he even checked behind the
curtains, thinking she was hiding, before realizing that he might have shot
her.

Mr. Pistorius said he rushed to his
balcony to scream for help. “I don’t think I’ve ever screamed or cried like
that. I was crying out to the Lord to help me.”

His testimony suddenly ended when he broke into loud uncontrollable sobs,
heaving with tears and howling, as he described how he found his lifeless
girlfriend on the bathroom floor after breaking down the locked door.

The court immediately recessed to allow him to compose himself, and his
family rushed to comfort him.

A few minutes later, defence lawyer Barry Roux asked for an adjournment until
Wednesday, saying that Mr. Pistorius’s shirt was “soaking wet” from his
tears.

Describing the first sounds of an opening and shutting window, Mr. Pistorius said he was terrified of the perceived
threat, just a few metres from the bedroom, so he grabbed his pistol from
beneath his bed to “protect” himself and Ms. Steenkamp.

He said he shouted and screamed, telling the “burglars” to leave and telling
Ms. Steenkamp
to “get down.” He was walking on his stumps because he had earlier removed his
prosthetic legs to sleep for the night.

His bedroom was dark and he ran with his hand in front of him, Mr. Pistorius said. After screaming, he heard a door
slamming and it “confirmed” that a person or persons were inside the bathroom,
he said.

A few minutes earlier, he and Ms. Steenkamp had woken up, sleepless on a humid night,
and Ms. Steenkamp
had asked him whether he was unable to sleep, he said.

Mr. Pistorius spoke in a trembling but
clear voice. On a courtroom bench just a few metres away, Ms. Steenkamp’s mother, June, was overcome with tears
and hunched over, comforted by friends, as she heard Mr. Pistorius describe her daughter’s final
moments.

Mr. Pistorius was wearing shorts and a
long-sleeved T-shirt as he testified, because he had earlier removed his
prosthetic legs to show his height in relation to the bathroom door – an exhibit
in the courtroom.

In earlier testimony on Tuesday, Mr. Pistorius flatly denied that he had fired his 9mm
pistol through the open sunroof of a car in September, 2012, despite testimony
from two friends who had been in the car. He acknowledged, however, that he was
angry and “agitated” because a policeman had picked up his pistol and removed a
bullet from it, after stopping their car for speeding.

Asked about an incident in January, 2013, in which he had discharged a pistol
in a busy restaurant, Mr. Pistorius
said it was a “mistake” and “stupid” of him to ask his friend Darren Fresco to
pass him the gun, but he blamed Mr. Fresco for giving him an unsafe loaded gun.
He denied he had asked Mr. Fresco to take the blame for the shooting, insisting
that it was his friend’s idea to accept the blame.

Mr. Pistorius also read excerpts from
a huge stack of cellphone messages between him and Ms. Steenkamp
as the defence tried to establish that they had a loving relationship. The
messages included several examples of arguments between them, but the
“unhappiness” was always “resolved” afterward, Mr. Pistorius said.

In one message, after an argument at a party, Ms. Steenkamp
said she was sometimes “scared” of him. After reading the message in a choked
voice, Mr. Pistorius said it was a “bad day”
in their relationship. He said he was “upset” and “sensitive and maybe insecure
or jealous” when she neglected him at a party, which led to her message.

Most of the messages between the two, however, were filled with terms of
endearment and tender nicknames, and the defence was clearly trying to establish
that they had a loving relationship.